My Favorite Bird Photos

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Graeme and I met at Lake Artemesia this morning in search of Wood Ducks, and did well. We had a bright day of sunshine with a light breeze and plenty of birds.

We were met by an Eagle, a relatively rare species at the lake, then Ring Necks and Pied Billed Grebes. Geese, Mallards and Wood Ducks followed. My first good Junco of the season will please my sister.

I made a brief stop at Quiet Waters in the afternoon and found a nice Pileated Woodpecker.

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I had pretty good directions to the Snowy Owl site the other day, and parked a couple of hundred yards short of the spot.
As I walked along the roadside, a school bus puled up alongside and the woman driver opened the door and asked, “Have you seen the Snow Owl yet”?
“No”, I said, and she wished me luck and drove off. All this at 7:00 AM.
There was a pickup parked near the spot, and I walked up to it, hoping to get some insight, and saw the owl about the same time. He was perched a hundred or so yards away on a small tree near the water. Then I met Ray.
Ray must be about 60. He looks more like a banker than the waterman he is. He was dressed neatly (Much neater than me) and had a neatly trimmed beard. He then proceeded to detail every move the bird had made for the last two weeks or more.
Ray is enamored of this owl. He pointed out each tree and piece of ground the bird occupied, listed his schedule and told of the other birders he’d met, and their reactions. I was able to give him some insight to the life and behavior of Snowy owls, and he was eager for every detail, including the recorded songs.
I’ve watched birds and fished for a very long time, and I know that connecting to nature is a large part of the attraction. Watching and listening to Roy’s animated story-telling reminded me of how amazing the whole experience can be, and was as rewarding as finding the owl at all.

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After 4 days of rain and fog, I was eager to get out. There was another report of as Snowy Owl at Hooper’s Island, so I went back to take a look. My bad luck continued. I did find a nice Merganser to make the trip worthwhile.

Wildlife

Drive was a little barren with many fewer Snow Geese, but an increase in Tundra Swans. There were very few ducks, no terns and no sandpipers.

The eagles weren’t terribly active either.

This Dark Eyed Junco was part of a flock at Quiet Waters.

An Eastern Bluebird.

I usually pass up Mourning Doves.

Only a few Northern Shovelers were present.

A lone Great Blue Heron was passing by.

Many Ruddy Ducks were resting at Quiet Waters.

I found this Horned Grebe at Quiet Waters.

I don’t see sitting Black Backed Gulls often.

Turkey Vultures often dry their wings like this.

Many Tundra Swans were resting in the marsh.

This Snow Goose stayed in one spot all the while I was there. It may be injured.

Red Winged Blackbirds were very numerous.

This American Wigeon was at Oakley Street.

A Lesser Scaup at Oakley Street.

This Mallard was stretching his wings.

This Red Breasted Merganser was fishing at the Hooper’s Island Bridge.

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There was a Snowy Owl reported at Hooper’s Island, which is just a few miles from Blackwater, and I took a look this morning. By the time I got to Blackwater, the fog was so thick that I waited a while before heading to the Hooper’s Island bridge.

Alas, my lack of Snowy Owl luck continued, and I found only a few birds, and in poor light.

At Blackwater, there were thousands of Geese feeding in the surrounding fields, which gave some good photo opps.

Still the fog continued for quite some time, and the light never got really good. I’m including a few images from yesterday’s trip to Possum Point and Quiet Waters.

You can usually find a Bald Eagle perched along Wildlife Drive.

I was able to get quite close to the large flock of Snow Geese.

Only a few Northern Shovelers were feeding in the marsh.

There were two Great Blue Herons standing in the shallow water.

I got this image just as this Bufflehead rounded the corner at Possum Point.

You can usually find a Black Backed Seagull at Possum Point.

10-12 Red Breasted Mergansers were feeding near the point.

This Canada Goose was the only image I got at Quiet Waters.

This Horned Grebe and two companions were foraging right under the bridge.